Autoblog

Mercedes-Benz' presence at SEMA has traditionally included a smattering of pimptastic E- and S-Classes lining the booths of the Big Balla tuners, and this year, we can expect more of the same. But to get the word out about the new GLK, Mercedes enlisted the help of four firms to accentuate the lil' 'ute's character and clientele.

Perhaps you've heard: Mercedes-Benz has this new SUV called the GLK, and it's not just the Sex and the City audience that's being targeted. The compact ute's getting-to-know-you tour will make a stop at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where four concept versions will be on display. We already told you about RENNtech's hybrid Rally Racer show truck, and now we have some info on the other three versions that'll join it in Vegas.

Naturally, BRABUS will represent, skinning the GLK300 Bluetec in Widestar duds, new wheels, and the de rigeur custom interior. No power upgrade yet, it seems, but knowing BRABUS, they'll have a version putting out approximately a trillion horsepower by the time the GLK is in customers' hands.

Boulevard Customs is prepping the GLK "Urban Whip", a garish creation sporting 26" wheels and a front end that likely depleted the world's supply of mesh grillework. Lord knows what all the other SEMA builders are gonna do now that they're faced with this crisis.

Finally, Legendary Motor Cars will show the Four Corners Rock Crawler, which rolls on big knobby rubber, has an integrated grille guard, and sports a set of roof lights. But all that's dress-up, because off-roading's not the angle. This GLK has some winch rig that lets it pull skaters into position to then grind on the truck's integrated side rails. (G-Wagen ambulance chase vehicle not included.)

Hey, no one ever said SEMA's about being particularly normal. We'll have plenty more live shots from the show in November.


[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Click above to view high-res gallery of the 2010 GLK 350

Mercedes-Benz debuted the GLK last January at the Detroit Auto Show in the form of two lightly veiled concepts: the Townside and the Freeside. Until now, the only place we've glimpsed the production version is on the set of Sex and the City. This weekend Mercedes will be unveiling the production GLK sans Kim Cattrall at the Beijing Motor Show, a.k.a. the Auto China in Bejing. We've also learned that the GLK will have only one engine available when it goes sale in the U.S. next January as a 2010 model. The sole motor will be a 268-horsepower 3.5L V6, which can be paired with a two-wheel-drive or 4MATIC all-wheel-drive platform, the latter being able to hit 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds while also returning 23 mpg on the highway. The design of the GLK, meanwhile, apes other CUVs that want to look tough despite their decidedly non-SUV underpinnings, hence all the angularity and sharp edges. Its standard ten-spoke wheels will be unusually large at 19 inches, and 20-inchers will be optional. The GLK 350 will be a true Mercedes with all the trappings of digital technology inside and a plethora of safety features, and MB is planning five option packages and nine standalone options. It'll be built at the automaker's plant in Bremen, Germany and join the R-Class, M-Class, GL-Class and G-Class as the fifth "SUV" in the Mercedes lineup. No word yet on pricing, though. Check out the first official pics of this new soft-roader in our gallery below and get the official word from Mercedes after the jump.


[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

click above for 22 high-res images of the Mercedes-Benz GLK Vision FREESIDE

We brought you five images of the Mercedes-Benz GLK Vision GLK FREESIDE when news broke on it last night, but today MB has released a full slate of photography showing its new soft-roader from every angle. We can't say it necessarily helps, as the GLK still looks like something you'd place on the kitchen counter to hold your good set of knives. So many sharp angles, creases and hard lines tries to impart an air of SUV-ness to the GLK that just doesn't work as well as it does on the full-size GL SUV. Nevertheless, the GLK has some promising hardware hiding underneath its butch exterior that includes a BLUETEC four-cylinder diesel, 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission and a new 4MATIC all-wheel drive that's as efficient as a two-wheel-drive set up. We're also eager to climb inside the GLK to determine how the interior stacks up to its cross-town competition from BMW, as well as similarly sized and less expensive CUVs. There's certainly money to be made in the CUV business, but the question is how much will the GLK make for Mercedes-Benz? Look for our live coverage of the 2008 Detroit Auto Show beginning Sunday, January 13th to find out.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Click the Vision GLK for a high-res photo gallery

After countless spy photos and leaks, the Mercedes-Benz GLK is finally officially official. The new compact SUV from Stuttgart will get its public debut in two weeks at the Detroit Auto Show. At 14.8-feet. long, the GLK is only about three inches longer than a Ford Escape. It borrows a lot of the sharp edged styling cues of the big GL SUV, but carries them somewhat awkwardly on its much shorter body.

The GLK Vision is powered by Daimler's latest 168-hp 2.2-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder paired up with a seven-speed automatic transmission. The diesel uses the latest fourth-gen common rail injection system that operates at 29,000 psi on the inlet side with Bluetec urea injection to clean up the exhaust. Mercedes has reworked the 4MATIC all wheel drive system to reduce friction to the point where it's as efficient as a two-wheel-drive setup. The new GLK won't show up in European showrooms until this fall with a U.S. launch planned a year from now. The Mercedes press release is after the jump for those want details straight from the automaker's mouth.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit is right around the corner, where Mercedes is anticipated to unveil the vehicle you see here: the Mercedes-Benz GLK Freeside concept. Official images and details are expected in a manner of days, but someone at Daimler headquarters has apparently let the proverbial cat out of the bag.

Like the "Vision" concepts that Mercedes used to give us in the '90s, the GLK Freeside "show-car" is more of a pre-production prototype than a design study, and is tipped to closely mirror what the production GLK will look like. We already got a preview of the production model when the GLK showed up undisguised on the set of Sex and the City, of all places. The "Freeside" moniker, which seems dangerously close to the "Freelander" named used by Land Rover, is not expected to carry over when the little truck goes into production.

This leaked photo comes at a busy time for Mercedes, which recently gave us the new SLK (and SLK 55 AMG), a teaser shot of the new SL roadster and leaked photos of the facelifted CLS-Class all in the past couple of weeks.

[Source: Carscoop]

click to enlarge

Thank the four ladies from Sex and the City for this very early sneak peek of the Mercedes-Benz GLK, Stuttgart's new compact CUV that wasn't supposed to be seen in public until the Geneva Motor Show in March. The vehicle's being used in the upcoming Sex and the City movie and was snapped completely free of camo on an open set.

Without all of the covering and cladding, it's now apparent just how sharp and chunky the GLK's styling is. Some have described it as Jeep-like, though we think it's a bit more complicated and busy than a simple slab-sided Jeep.

Curiously, the GLK will not be sold in right-hand-drive markets like the UK because its 4Matic four-wheel-drive system can't be made to work with the steering wheel on the right. Where the GLK is on sale, it will be offered with a smattering of engines, including two gas-powered V6s, a diesel V6 and diesel four-cylinder.

Considering that the GLK has long been considered a response to the BMW X3, we're wondering how you think it stacks up, at least in the area of styling. We've always considered the X3 awkward-looking, but the GLK is also a little too butch for our liking. So we guess the question is, which one's less ugly?

[Photo: Brenda Priddy & Co.]

2008 is going to be a hectic year for the engineers responsible for new product launches at Mercedes-Benz. The team in Stuttgart have one all-new, one redesigned and five refreshed models coming before this time next year. Mercedes will jump into the compact crossover segment for the first time with the all-new GLK, which we'll finally get to see minus all the spy photo disguises. The GLK should turn up in concept form at Geneva with a production launch later in the year.

Another new badge, if not a whole new car, is the CLC. Formerly known as the C-Class Sport Coupe, this two-door hatchback coupe gets fresh styling on the old C-Class chassis. As for the five existing models getting mid-cycle refreshes, both the SL and SLK roadsters are getting nose jobs and butt lifts. Their overall looks remain the same, but lights get reshaped and grilles get updated in a manner similar to the new C-Class. A similar treatment will also be applied to the big CLS foor-door "coupe" and the small A- and B-Class hatchbacks.

[Source: AutoCar]

Entry-level luxury vehicles are hotter than ever, and the small crossover segment is set to continue that growth with the X3 and RDX soon to be joined by the Infinity EX, Audi Q5, and Mercedes GLK. The folks over at KGP Photography captured Mercedes' upcoming crossover testing at Germany's Nurburgring, and if there is any doubt which vehicle resides within the cross-hairs of GLK, one of the pics has an X3 in the background.

Expect the GLK to come equipped with Mercedes' corporate 3.5L V6, seven-speed automatic, and 4Matic AWD. We'd be really excited if the boys and girls from Benz-land threw an optional BluTec diesel in the mix, and a AMG 6.3L V8 wouldn't suck either. The GLK is scheduled to hit the streets as an 09' model, and it'll have plenty of competition in this soon to be crowded segment.

[Source: Edmunds Straightline]

Mercedes is preparing a new compact SUV targeting the BMW X3, and spy photos of a test mule have been shot near the factory in Stuttgart, Germany.

The GLK fills a new niche in the Mercedes SUV line-up, together with the M-Class and G-Class. Like the SLK is a "kurz" (short) version of the SL roadster, the GLK is like a baby G-wagen. Based on the mechanicals of the next C-Class, the GLK's styling will ape the design of its big-brother GL, but on a smaller scale. The engine range is tipped to start (in the US market, at least) with Mercedes' 3.5-liter V6, with the mouthwatering possibility of a V8-powered GLK63 AMG in the cards at the top of the range, all driving through Mercedes' 7-speed auto transmission and 4Matic all-wheel drive.

Insiders expect the GLK to hit the market as a 2009 model, with a possible unveiling at either Frankfurt '07 or Geneva '08. As always, watch this space for more info as it emerges.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]